LHVnews: London Mayor Boris Johnson has blamed NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for teaching terrorists “how to avoid being caught” and urged the UK government to fast-track its new surveillance bill in the wake of Friday’s Paris massacre.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday, Johnson said: "To
some people the whistleblower Edward Snowden is a hero; not to me. It is pretty
clear that his bean-spilling has taught some of the nastiest people on the
planet how to avoid being caught; and when the story of the Paris massacre is
explained, I would like a better understanding of how so many operatives were
able to conspire, and attack multiple locations, without some of their
electronic chatter reaching the ears of the police.”

The mayor also urged expediting the new surveillance bill
currently being considered by the government. Although an attack of the scale
seen in Paris is unlikely in London, it is not possible to "rule it out completely,”
he said.

"I have less and less sympathy with those who oppose the new
surveillance powers that the government would like to give the security
services.”

The government’s Investigatory Powers Bill, which was
unveiled in draft form two weeks ago, would give security agencies the power to
impose obligations on telecommunications companies to hand over data. It would
also allow the government to hack computers and smartphones in order to obtain
data.